Cracks in the Plastic World
by Raven317
Summary: "This isn't what it looks like, I swear! I don't even remember getting in bed with him!" Her face colored immediately. "So your'e sexually attracted to me, it's not a big deal Tsunemori. I won't hold it against you," Kogami said smoothly from his hospital bed. "But I'm not attracted to you, not even a little!" The enforcer raised one sharp eyebrow. Some prank this turned out to be.
1. The Prank

**Authors note:** Psycho pass may be one of my favorite anime shows ever because one: I'm a psych major, two: it's a distopia, three: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, four: Akane's morals don't degrade despite the atrocities she sees everyday and finds practical ways to uphold them, five: KOGAMI. I think he'd give any woman the yummy shivers. Anyway . . . Ko and Akane are both far too professional to ever have a romantic relationship, but if by some blessing they did, someone else would have to act as a catalyst. Then it would develop very slowly with a lot of denial. So here's my take. Will try to update every week. Kick my butt into gear if I don't. Please. I actually want to finish this one.

* * *

 **The Prank**

Suzume must have been in a forgiving mood tonight. That's the thought that ran through his half conscious mind when Kogami felt warmth pressing against his side. He would never admit it out loud but he cherished that warmth, and every once in a while when it was missing he would feel a dull ache. That's why he instinctively took the opportunity to wrap his fiancé into a close embrace. The coveted creature comfort lulled him back into a deep and dreamless sleep in a record breaking 32.4 seconds.

The next time Kogami woke up, it was from a shrill "EEEP!" accompanied by some annoying squirming. He grunted and tightened his hold a little to try and restrain the woman in his arms from disturbing him anymore- if it was in his power to prolong the moment then he would.

"Mr. Kogami! Please let me go," she pleaded a little desperately. Wrong woman- oops.

"Well, aren't you two just precious. I'm impressed Tsunemori, I didn't know you had it in you," Shion Karanomori walked into the recovery room smirking devilishly and placed a manicured hand on her cocked hip.

Akane finally worked herself free and got to her feet, "This isn't what it looks like, I swear! I don't even remember getting in bed with him!" Her face colored immediately which did nothing to help the incriminating appearance of her rumpled hair and cloths.

Kogami adjusted himself in bed with some difficulty given the still fresh wounds wrapped around his torso. He always put himself (and the team) in such high risk situations. When the sheet fell into his lap Akane almost groaned in frustration to see that the doctors had left him shirtless in order to access his bandages better. None of this was helping her plea of innocence

"So your'e sexually attracted to me, it's not a big deal Tsunemori. I won't hold it against you," Kogami said smoothly.

"But I'm not attracted to you! Not even a little!" The enforcer raised one sharp eyebrow. Akane scrambled to save herself, "I mean, not that you're unattractive, it's just that you're not- I wouldn't _-_ and you're my subordinate! I'm always professional, I've never even had time for romance and-"

"Oh sweetie," Shion shook her head in pity, "you don't have to have something as tedious as romance to get in bed with a man."

"B-but that's not how it is at all! I would _never-_ I just- it's not like-" she was getting too worked up to make any sense so she squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. "The last thing I remember is sitting in that chair-" she pointed at the rigid wooden seat beside her definitively, "and monitoring Mr. Kogami's recovery."

". . . I bet you could file a sexual harassment complaint," the blond directed her gaze at the enforcer.

"Mm, you've got a point," he mumbled around a cigarette he had yet to light.

Akane collapsed into the chair, face buried in her hands and elbows resting on her knees, "Oh, I'm so confused."

"Actually you're quite strait dear, which is a real shame by the way," Shion said eyeing her until an orange haired delinquent cackling from the door frame caught her attention. "For once, letting you drag me out of my office was worth it. I'd say this is your best work yet."

"I agree with that last bit. You can never have enough back mail material," Kagari grinned dangerously.

"Well, there's your culprit. Turns out your innocence is as untarnished as ever inspector," Kogami concluded before exhaling a steady stream of smoke.

"You're responsible for this?" the victim questioned with wide eyes.

The guilty party looked all too proud as he incriminated himself, "Yup! But I only put you in the bed, what happened after that was all you." He winked at her and she actually did groan at that. "By the way Akane-chan, you're way too light. You should probably think about putting on some weight before a criminal blows you away. You're also a freakishly deep sleeper, I almost dropped you and you didn't even flinch."

The young inspector was already spent and it was still early in the morning. She dragged herself out of the room unnoticed by the rest of the group who kept up the banter.

"Should you really be smoking in a hospital?"

"This isn't even a real hospital."

"I thought Ginoza confiscated all your smokes from this place."

"That's what I want him to think, now keep your mouth shut about it and get the hell out of my room. You're delaying my recovery."

Akane muttered under her breath, "I'm going to drink a whole pot of coffee."


	2. The Pic

**A/N:** So this is my deal, whenever I discover a new anime that I fall in love with I will binge watch it until the end of the series and then my brain will explode with possible character interactions (which usually involve my favorite characters becoming romantically involved). I'll type like crazy for a couple days, then I burn out and move on. That's exactly what happened this time until I got one amazing review to beat all reviews and now I don't care how little hype this story gets, I want to finish it for this one reader because you deserve it. Thank you for being AMAZING!

* * *

 **The Pic**

Akane was immeasurably grateful that the bed incident was never mentioned after that and everyone slid easily back into their daily routine. Kogami didn't seem fazed in the slightest, he was as focused as ever. She almost forgot that the whole thing had happened until about a month later. Once a month division 1 had a morning meeting where everyone was required to congregate to discuss how they have been working as a team, report any problems, and brainstorm improvements they could make. There was a window of about ten minuets before hand where everyone had time to settle into their desks and check their messages.

Akane was almost always the first to walk into the office in the morning so she was shocked to find Kagari lounging in his chair looking smug,

"Moooorning," he drawled.

She was confused but she greeted him with a smile anyway, "Good morning Kagari." She sorted varies papers away and straitened what little mess was left in her work space and it wasn't long until everyone else found their way in as well. Most were too tired (or maybe too cold natured) to give a proper greeting so the morning office routine was generally pretty silent.

The young inspector stimulated her computerized unit and sighed to find it bursting with messages: some of them were bills, some spam from her friends, some work related reminders. Most of them wound up getting deleted, but the most recent message made her pause. It was from Kagari- it was titled **You're gonna want to see this~**

She tapped it open and gasped in horror. It was a dark but high quality photo depicting herself in a bed wrapped in the arms of a shirtless subordinate.

 _He took a picture?! Why send it now? My gosh, was it really that intimate? Oh no, we look like a couple. And is that-_ she squinted at her photographed self- Suddenly a thought occurred to her and her eyes flew to the recipient. Multiple recipients actually. Her hands slammed on either side of her typing unit and she stood abruptly. It had been sent to everyone in division one. Kagari was failing to hide his mirth, Yayoi was saving the picture to her hard drive and backing up the data. Kogami and Ginoza had no reaction while Mazaoka just said, "Oh. Wow."

Ginoza called them in to begin the she shuffled through the doorway Akane kept her head down and tried to hid the fact that she was sweating bullets through her suit. Everyone around her was talking calmly of strategy and business but she couldn't hear any of it above her racing thoughts and the itchy feeling of so many eyes on her.

"-emori? Tsueunemori!"

"Huh?" Her head snapped up and met the narrowed gaze of Ginoza and her stomach dropped.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-yes, I'm ok, of corse I'm ok. I just got a little distracted that's all," she tried for a disarming smile but worried it might have come out strained.

"You haven't contributed at all since the beginning of this meeting. Not only is that highly unusual for you, it is also unacceptable. Please focus on the task at hand inspector," he berated her coldly.

She bowed her head deeply , "I apologize for my lapse of attention. I will do better in the future." The rest of the meeting went by at an agonizingly slow pace but Akane forced herself to listen and throw out ideas. When they were finally dismissed, Ginoza asked her to stay behind.

 _He saw the picture and now he's going to fire me! I don't blame him, but this is probably the most embarrassing way on earth to get thrown out of a job!_

"Your hue has clouded hasn't it? That's why you've been so nervous. It's because you've been spending so much time with the enforces, I told you not to get too close to them! They contaminate-" She held up a hand to stop his angry rant. It was heartening that everyone always worried about her pure hue becoming spoiled, but really she was the last person they should be worried about.

Akane made sure to put warmth in her tone, "My crime coefficient has remained at 38 all morning. As I have said before, I am more than capable of maintaining my mental health." She could see her partner visibly relax. "My nervousness comes from a personal issue and I would rather not discuss it because it's really embarrassing."

"You know that that's no excuse, but I'm just glad your hue is stable. That is all, you may return to work."

"Yes sir."

 _Ginoza must be the only person that didn't receive the picture. Thank you lucky stars that Kagari has at least enough sense not to send a picture like that to my immediate superior._

She was about to head to the restroom, partially to relieve herself and partially to have a few minutes to collect herself, when she nearly ran into a solid, brown coated body.

"Whoa there missy. I was actually coming to find you to discuss a few points on the case file you handed me yesterday. Let's walk and talk, my legs could use some stretching. Now, when it says 'larceny' in section 28B it's referring to the same perp indicated for petty theft in section 7A right?" Before she knew it, Mazaoka was guiding her out into the hallway and then into the division one enforcer private quarters.

She made an easy deduction, "We're not here to talk about business."

The older man settled himself on the edge of an armchair, leaning forward, "How long have you been seeing Shinya Kogami?" He looked remarkably like a father confronting his daughter.

Akane sighed and perched on a strait lined leather couch. She probably should have expected this. "We're not seeing each other."

Mazaoka closed his eyes like he was trying to shield her from his disappointment, "The picture I received this morning is enough evidence to contradict you. I'm surprised you would lie about this, but I'm even more surprised that you would be so flippant with your sexual life."

The inspector colored immediately, "I'm not lying and I am NOT in a sexual relationship with my subordinate! Mr. Kogami was hopped up on pain killers and I fell asleep from exhaustion at his bed side. Mr. Kagari apparently came in while we were both knocked out and thought it would be funny to put me in bed with him. That's all that happened."

There was a long stretch of silence where Mazaoka seemed to be absorbing everything. "I see. I know you don't want to hear this right now, but I have to warn you to guard yourself around Kogami. He's got a good heart but it's buried under some deep mud. There hasn't been room in there for anything other than revenge for a long time now."

"I understand that sir." Akane looked down with furrowed brows wondering if she should ask the question that she knew was none of her business. Her detective curiosity got the better of her, "Just before he woke up . . . I think Kogami said a name. It sounded like Suzume?"

The old man smiled but it held more bitter than sweet. "There was a time, years and years ago, when Ko was still able to fall in love. Strait out of academy he got engaged- beautiful girl. But the longer he was in the MWPSB the more he became married to his job. No woman wants to take second seat to a job. I'm not sure he even noticed when she left."

"Oh . . . I know you telling me all this as a warning, so I'm telling you that it's absolutely not needed. My feelings for Mr. Kogami are purely platonic, but I am glad to have a better understanding of his past. I used to have a hard time working with him, but the more I learn about him the easier it gets."

"Yeah, the bastard can be quite the loose canon, you've got your work cut out for you," the old enforcer got up and they began walking back to the office. "I'm sorry for doubting you. I should have known you would never do something like that."

"It's fine, you were just trying to protect me."

"That is a big part of my job you know."

Akane smiled widely, "You go above and beyond Mr. Mazaoka."

His laugh was gruff and hardy, "You do a hell of a job yourself kiddo!"

* * *

 **Afterward:** I couldn't help but think of one of the Weasly twins when Kagari said, "Mooooring." He's such a troll.


	3. The Prerogative

**Authors note:** Egad! I have more readers! I hardly expected a response for this work, and I haven't gotten much, but what I've gotten is really meaningful and touching and I'm just so glad you enjoy my writing because- wow! Thank you to the mysterious M for that review, sorry to call you out. Cool name. M stands for mysterious right? Sorry! I get distracted.

* * *

 **The Prerogative**

The day after the meeting, Kogami began his shift at noon which allowed him a solid work out, time for some off-the-books investigation, and two cat naps. He preferred having down time in the morning to warm up before setting to work, not that his skill dulled in the slightest during his morning shifts. He just required more coffee and cigarettes.

Not five minutes after settling into his station, Akane announced that they had received an alert that a fourteen year old girl with a crime coefficient of 112 had been detected by a street scanner in a park.

"I'm cracking some voice coding software for Shion, she said she needs it as soon as possible. Requesting permission to sit out of this mission," Yayoi said formally.

Akane shrugged, "No problem, this shouldn't take long anyway."

"Don't get too relaxed inspector. You shouldn't underestimate a latent criminal," Kogami said.

"Oh please, she's 14. She's probably stressed out about her grades or something," Akane dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

He gave her a look, "I would argue, but I don't want to get shot again," She growled at the jab and stormed out in a huff as Yayoi smirked dryly.

He may have been joking, but his reservations were real. The fact that their target was a miner with a high crime coefficient meant that her school had sent requests to her parents or guardians to send the child to a therapist when her number reached a certain level. When they refused, the school expelled her before her number became legally dangerous. Most school systems had a no-tolerance policy for numbers over 85 and sent high number cases home to spend time with their families and become 'reacquainted with a system of family values'. It was a giant ploy to make sure the insurance companies couldn't bust them for failing to provide appropriate, but expensive, therapy themselves.

Kogami assessed the easy stride of the inspector in front of him that bespoke of her ignorance in cases of underaged criminals. Conclusion: he would pull the trigger while she was morally obligated to hesitate to cause physical harm to a minor. He was content with this arrangement and lounged in his seat quietly while the car system took them where they needed to go. That is, until Akane broke the silence, "Doesn't it bother you?"

"You're going to have to be more specific." Honestly, did she expect him to read her mind? He wasn't that good of a detective.

"The prank- and the fact that everyone saw that picture yesterday," he looked over at his partner and tried to get a read on her but she kept a strait face and her eyes were focused forward.

Yesterday when he received the message from Kagari, he had exited and ignored it. Then he saw how much Akane was effected by it and the image kept popping up in his head like an annoying fly buzzing around. Late last night he reopened the digital picture and stared at it for a long time to figure out what was so special about it. He decided it must be the tiny, almost invisible upward curve in the corner of Akane's lips that made her look like she was keeping a sweet little secret. There were few things that could remind him that his heart wasn't stone, but this picture amplified his pulse until he could feel it beneath the tips of the fingers hovering before his stoic face. He printed out a paper copy to tuck away in his room as a reminder to himself that there was good in the world. Kogami seriously thought about cutting himself out of the picture, but there was no point because he would always remember whose arms were around her form.

"No, it doesn't bother me. Kagari gets bored and plays stupid pranks sometimes, it's nothing personal. If anything it helps everyone to relax and keep a healthier mind when they can laugh at his antics, so if it comes at my expense then so be it."

"Wow. I wish I could be that cool about it," she said, clearly impressed.

"I can make him stop if it bothers you." He knew Kagari's weak points, it wouldn't take much to break him.

Akane flashed him a smile, "No, if what you're saying is true then I agree. It was pretty harmless after all."

Kogami cut her a side glance, "You could always get back at him."

"You mean prank him back? I wouldn't even know how to begin to do that. Unless-" she caught sight of the devious smirk growing on his face, "you have something in mind?"

 ** _"_** ** _You have arrived at your destination."_** The car parallel parked itself and a compartment opened up to produce two dominators. **_"The target is a teenage female with a crime coefficient exceeding 100, please proceed with caution."_**

They got out and took in their surroundings, "How are we supposed to find her in a large park with so many families?" Akane asked perplexed.

"Just look for a nervous teenager glancing over her shoulder. She'll probably run the moment she sees our suits." A circuit around the playground didn't give them any luck, but partway down a running path they spotted a short girl with crinkly hair and an oddly stiff gait.

"Hey you!" He yelled to get her attention and the fearful light in her eyes was all he needed to be sure of her guilt. She sprinted off like her life depended on it and Kogami was after her in a beat. She pushed passed people on a peaceful stroll and swung around light poles to give her more momentum around turns. She was a speedy little thing, but all his years of training weren't for nothing. He sped off in a different direction, weaving through trees and breaking back onto the foot path in a billow of dust. He appeared in front of the target, dominator pointed at the center of her chest.

The girl skidded to a halt and fell hard on her knees in a quivering wreck, "Please, no."

 ** _"_** ** _Enforcement mode: Non-Lethal Paralyzer. Please aim carefully and subdue the target."_** Tears slid down her cheeks and she squeezed her eyes shut as he prepared to fire.

"Kogami wait! Don't shoot!" Akane finally arrived and promptly doubled over panting. He was starting to get used to her reluctance toward violence and even respected it, but that usually only applied to victims with temporarily high crime coefficients.

"She's not- going to run- anymore," the inspector wheezed.

"It's your call," the enforcer holstered his weapon.

"I'm still going to have to place you under arrest," Akane informed the girl. "Can you stand?" The girl got shakily to her feet and Akane took out her cuffs, but the moment they clicked into place around her small wrists the girl started sobbing. His boss looked highly concerned so he took the initiative to lead their latent criminal to the car despite the stares and whispers of the onlookers. By the time they arrived the girl was inconsolable.

"Don't shut her in yet. Can you get the first aid kit for me?" she requested. He nodded curtly. Part of him was wondering why they were coddling a latent criminal who had tried to run from the law, but another small part felt a modicum of warmth. Maybe it came from witnessing a level of compassion that was all but extinct.

"It's not the end of the world you know," the inspector spoke softly handing over a tissue for the girl to clean up her face with.

"I c-can't afford council-ling be-cause of my brother's med-medical bills." Akane accepted the first aid kit and began wiping up the harsh scrapes on the girl's knees.

"Then you can come with us and we'll keep you in a nice facility while you receive government treatment."

The girl started sobbing harder than before, "But no one ever comes back from that! They go in and never come out, just like mom!"

The inspector finished with the bandages and took one of the girl's hands, "You're young, and resilient, and I don't think you're a bad person. You just have to put in the work with the councilor and you'll be back out in society in no time. Everyone else gives up before they even try because they've given in to their fate as a latent criminal, but I have a feeling you're going to set a new standard. You have the power to fight for your fate, to break history. You can do this." A sudden curiosity struck Kogami and he pulled the dominator back out and aimed it at their target. "Kogami," the inspector said in a warning voice.

"Unbelievable. Her number has already dropped by five points. It's like a reverse Psycho-Hazard." The girl gave Akane a watery smile and she returned it with a reassuring one of her own and a pat on the head before closing the car door. Kogami watched the whole time thinking, _How is that possible?_

"Why are you staring at me like I'm an alien?"

He shook himself out of it, "You're something else inspector."

* * *

 **Afterward:** The chapter title, prerogative, means a right or privilege in reference to the unnamed girl's right to fight for her well being. I got excited about how well the total fit even though it's not my favorite chapter. Also, the retaliation prank will happen and I have an idea, but I would like to hear your ideas because they could be better. Mine is lacking in . . .devious-ness so leave a review about it if you please! 


	4. The Protest

**A/N:** Longest week ever. For the love of all things good in the world please remember to tip your waiter/waitress. It's basically our income. Anyway, this is where our fav pair start to get a little more emotional than they normally would. But don't worry, it's not over the top cringe worthy drama.

* * *

 **The Protest**

Akane walked into the MWPSB gym early in the morning to find Kogami toe-to-toe with an animated training dummy. It's hits were lightning fast but it was no match for the enforcer. A forearm block followed by quick one/two punches, duck a blow, powerful kick to the sternum and his foe was down for the count. It was so fluid. It all ran together like those moves had all been coordinated and practiced for months but she knew it was all battle experience and reflex. It was hard to believe someone could react that fast.

It didn't end there though, because he kept slugging the thing while it was down and he wasn't pulling any punches.

"I think he's had enough- don't you?" Kogami's head snapped up with a look like that of a wild beast caught tearing it's bloody claws into his dinner. The expression quickly faded and he dismounted the dummy whose hologram flicked and disappeared to reveal some heavily damaged plastic and exposed circuitry.

"Maintenance isn't going to be happy about that."

"It's not my fault the quality is so crappy," Kogami grumped before he downed half a bottle of water and then flipped a cartridge open to retrieve paper wrapped tobacco. Akane had subconsciously followed him and watched carefully as his heavily muscled torso expanded to absorb a cloud of nicotine and deflated again on the exhale. It smelled like deep thoughts and criminology, red string pinned with thumb tacks and unfettered disregard for social niceties.

"Why are you staring at me?"

"There's no way you weigh 145 at your hight with that kind of musculature. You'd be rail thin!"

"Are you saying I'm fat?" he asked flatly.

"Are you kidding? There's not an ounce of fat on you."

"It's all in my ass."

She blinked in shock and then burst out laughing. Normally she didn't think crudity was funny, but it was too unexpected and quick witted for it not to be funny.

"Why would you think I weigh 145 anyway?"

"That's what your profile says."

He paused and gave her his full attention, "How did you get ahold of my profile?"

Akane's eyes widened, "Oh! I'm so sorry, that's really private information isn't it? And I never even told you I read it. Mr. Ginoza gave it to me a while back when he got mad at me for doing something he thought could jeopardize my hue. It sounds awful, but I think he wanted to show me what happened to you so I would start listening to his advise about keeping my crime coefficient safe."

Kogami nodded like he approved. "You're ok with this?"

"It's not like I was trying to keep my past a secret. Besides, you probably should start listening to him. You're the last person I want to see become a latent criminal."

"You _agree_ with him? Listen, I appreciate all the concern, but I'm not a child! I can take care of myself." She could feel herself getting riled, but she was sick of everyone assuming that she was clueless and didn't know what she was getting herself into. Her number had never gone over 50 in her life! Their constant anxiety over her wellbeing was completely unjustified.

"We're just trying to keep you safe. You take a lot of unnecessary risks," he explained far too calmly. Once again she was reminded of a parent speaking to their child.

"And they've never caused me any problems! Not once! As far as I'm concerned, my -risk taking-" she made air quotes with her fingers, "has been nothing but helpful."

"What happens the day your recklessness finally costs you? Do you want to become a latent criminal?" there was finally a spark of agitation lighting up in his eyes now too.

She began shouting rather loudly, "So what if I become one? Being a latent criminal wouldn't kill me!"

Kogami took her upper arms in a tight hold, "DON'T SAY THAT! DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT! You see how we live everyday, forced to obey orders and kept tethered to a leash! The way you're used to living, your rosy worldview, the faith you have in people, all the things that make your life good rots away with the garbage and you become the scum of society. That's NOT you! I won't let that be your future!" He looked terrifying when those sharp grey eyes that were normally so cold lighted with fire, but she cared too much about this issue to back down. She glared up at him with just as much intensity, if not more, until he slowly dropped his hands.

"You're human, not a hunting dog. We-" Her voice shook with with emotion, "We're equals!"

Kogami looked out the window and his voice became softly bitter, "That's not how Sibyl sees it."

"THEN SIBYL IS WRONG!" His eyebrows jumped in surprise at her outburst. Uninvited emotion threatened to cloud her vision. "I hate that you and Kagari and Mazaoka, and Kunizuka are used. You're all my friends and everyone treats you like-" she squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head to try and escape the pain.

She thought she heard Kogami mutter, "friends?" but she was too busy clenching her jaw to notice. Her willpower alone had spared her from an embarrassing break-down many times.

"Alright Akane, lets calm you down," he said while picking her up and placing her to sit on the counter.

"Why? So I don't cloud my hue?" she bit out.

"No, so you don't pass out from asphyxiation. You need to breath smart-ass. Here." He tossed his water bottle at her. She sipped at the cool tastelessness while her tears dried into traces of salt. Kogami lit another cigarette, probably to calm himself down. It was strange, but this moment was somehow perfect. They didn't need to talk or apologize because each knew where the other stood and accepted it even if they didn't exactly agree. Akane felt so much closer to him now than she had ten minutes ago. She didn't care if she got cancer from his second hand smoke, she breathed it in anyway and hoped that the smell would stick to her. That's as rebellious as she would ever get with addictive substances.

"People are always changing. We develop new systems and then we have to take a few steps back before we can make progress. One day everyone will see enforcers the way I do, you'll get more rights, and the prejudice will fade away."

Kogami took another drag and she couldn't help but notice how cool he looked with his dark shaggy hair hanging between his eyes, smoke billowing from between his lips, and hard chest bared. "I'm too cynical a guy to honestly believe something as hopeful as that. People aren't as forgiving as you think they are."

"They could be if they tried."

"But they don't. How do you reconcile the gap between what people are in reality and what they could be?"

The inspector looked up past the concrete ceiling toward the clear blue sky that had never failed to give her the answers she was looking for. "I don't know, I guess I just have faith in people. Maybe it's misplaced, but if I don't have hope for the future then I don't have anything." They fell back into a comfortable silence that stimulated and soothed Akane at the same time until Kogami's cigarette burned out like an hourglass running out of sand. The last bit of ash fell to the floor and he began to gather his things to leave.

"So, you gonna put those work out cloths to use?"

Akane started, "Oh!" She laughed awkwardly, "I almost forgot what I came here for. I decided to start running so I can keep up when we're chasing targets. It's embarrassing how slow I am right now." She hopped down from the counter and started up a treadmill for her warm up.

"Good idea, I was beginning to think I'd have to carry you around on my back during assignments," he said dryly, and it was so hard to tell if he was joking.

"Go put on a shirt already Shinya, nobody likes an exhibitionist!" she retorted. For a brief moment he wore a smile of amusement before disappearing out the door.


	5. The Payback

**A/N:** EEP! Reviews guys, they make me blush and they make me want to keep writing. It's like fuel. Thanks a ton of bricks and a ton of feathers for the awesome feedback. This chapter's a bit longer but I didn't think you'd mind too much ;) There's a few points in this one where you really get in Ko's head and see how his mind had adapted to survive.

* * *

 **The Payback**

With an unnecessarily loud yawn and a long arm stretch Kagari announced that he was taking his lunch. Precisely three minutes after his departure Kogami made his way over to Tsunemori's desk and discreetly dropped off a folder as if he were turning in a report. The folder contained a single sheet of paper which read,

Victim: Shuusei Kagari

Target: AstroShock gaming system

Time: 2200 hours

Rally Point: Division 1 office

Objective: Sabotage

He didn't look back after completing the first phase of his mission, so he didn't get to see Tsunemori fighting a smile.

* * *

At a quarter until 10 Kogami found himself lounging in his work chair in a dark deserted office. Honestly, this wasn't too different from how he usually spent the night. There were too many scenes of gory violence from his memory raging through his brain to give him the peace he needed for sleep. Sometimes he just closed his eyes and let it play out in his head, following some cases to completion like reading a book from cover to cover. At least that way he had a sort of sense of completion. Sometimes, when it was too much, he would slam bandage wrapped fists into the punching bag in his room. Typically enforcers were not allowed to have workout equipment in their room, but they made an exception for Kogami after seeing what his pent up frustration did to the dry wall. The punching bag was declared a suitable outlet for his exceptional level of aggression.

When images of Sasayama's death or the unsolved case behind his murder was involved in his nightly routine, none of the usual coping mechanisms alleviated his restlessness. When that happens, he feels recklessly spontaneous, dangerous, and if he weren't an enforcer, tied down with an invisible ball and chain, there's no telling the kind of things he would do. As it were, his only option is to go into a frenzy of investigation, tracking old paper trails and dredging up three year old surveillance videos. The only thing of consequence he had found so far was a grainy image from a street cam of a possible accomplice in the background of a crowd. Little did he know that the same elusory white haired man would frequent his dreams, but Kogami would forget all about it as soon as he woke up.

The turn of a doorknob and muted tap of footfalls drew his gaze to Tsunemori's entrance. As always, she was quiet as a mouse, but not beyond his detection. Advantage one: his eyes were well adjusted to the dark by now where as hers were not. Advantage two: going by the slope of her shoulders, she was far too tense where as he was relaxed and comfortable with is surroundings. Advantage three: he was aware of her presence but she was uncertain of his.

He clicked on a small flashlight and they both blinked in the sudden light- the field was even.

"So what's the plan," she asked in a business voice as if they weren't two adults sneaking around in the dark to play a prank.

He held up a delicate screw driver and the sleek red gaming device, his prize for having spent an unprecedented ten minuets picking the lock of Kagari's custom made top desk drawer. It had a velvet liner inside shaped to accommodate the hand held devise perfectly. "We're going to take it apart and hide the pieces around the office."

Tsunemori's already large eyes widened, "You want to dismantle the most beautiful gaming system known to man? No, I can't do that. It will never run the same after it's put back together."

Kogami frowned. He had been looking forward to Ginoza's facial expression after finding machine parts in the soil of his potted plants. "You have a better idea?"

". . . Let me play with the programing a bit and we'll see what I can do."

"So now you're a hacker too. Any more hidden talents I should know about?" He asked handing over the system. Kogami liked having a working knowledge of a person's abilities so he could predict what they were capable of in the future. It was a mostly subconscious effort to keep tabs on people in case he had to turn against them in the future.

Tsunemori smirked, "I'm not a hacker, I'm just familiar with the system, that's all." The devise booted up with an echo of electric notes. She pressed a flurry of buttons and the aesthetically appealing display was replaced with an influx of computer code rolling across the screen. Maybe an unrevealed secret or two about one person wouldn't hurt.

He rolled up his chair behind her and she tensed the slightest bit. Kogami allowed himself to smirk because he knew no one would see his expression. His chin just barely scraped her shoulder as he peeked over at what she was doing and Akane nearly jumped out of her chair. _Little mouse . . ._ A wave of pleasant satisfaction hit him at her reaction.

"I have no idea what any of this means," he admitted.

Akane let out a bit of strained laughter as she answered, "Well, you don't have to."

"What are you doing?"

"Right now- I'm just trying to get past the security system. It's high tech enough by itself but Kagari must have supplemented it with something of his own design. He's good, but I think I'm just a bit better," she finished softly without pausing in her work. Her eyes were glowing with artificial light, much like they did when her dominator linked her mind up with Sibyl's automatic assessment system. Her concentration was so strong that Kogami wondered if she would even notice if he leaned past the mere inch between them. The curve of her cheek looked as smooth and cold as porcelain in the low blue light, and he had to admit it was tempting to satisfy his curiosity.

Kogami forced himself to pull back before he could fall down that rabbit hole. That kind of thing wasn't possible anymore, and honestly it wasn't even worth dreaming about. He had allowed war to consume his life a long time ago and giving into anything remotely close to love would only breed disaster. He couldn't allow anymore reckless thoughts about Akane to slip through the cracks if he wanted to keep what little sanity he had left.

"I'm in," her triumphant smile broke through his mental efforts. "Wow . . . I have access to- to just about everything! There's any number of things I could do to this system, the only limit is my creativity." Her attention finally snapped back toward Kogami. She considered him for a moment, "I'm sorry, this prank was your idea and I took over."

"It's your idea now. Take it away Tsunemori," he said, once again leaning back in his chair to distance himself some more.

She frowned at him, "You don't have to stay. It will take a while to explore my options and make the adjustments."

"Don't worry about me. I don't get bored," he produced and brandished a pocket sized literature book.

"You shouldn't be loosing sleep unnecessarily."

Her concern was almost amusing. Almost. "Listen, I'm lucky to catch four hours in one night. I'm not missing out on anything that's already outside of my reach. Besides, no one would believe me if I told them you pulled this scheme off by yourself."

Her lips curved upward gently, "That's true. I'm not exactly devious am I?"

"You're learning . . ." Akane laughed at the hint of dark pride in his voice and then went back to her work.

* * *

Kogami was a fast reader, but to have completed over half his book in one sitting still required an exhaustive amount of time. He rubbed his aching eyes and decided not to strain them in the low light anymore. Akane was like a machine. She was in exactly the same position as she had been hours ago and she never seemed to tire. Her eyes remained glued to the indecipherable computer code and her fingers flew over buttons like pistons.

He stared at her for a full five minutes just to see if she still blinked. She never did. Whatever she had gotten herself obsessed over must be fascinating, because it had 100% of her attention.

There was nothing left to occupy himself with, so Kogami kicked his feet up onto someone's desk and allowed a train of thought to carry him away. No sooner than he had gotten comfortable did he hear a muted thump and a groan. Tsunemori was kneading her knuckles into the small of her back while the AstroShock lay pushed to the side on Kogami's desk. He was almost surprised that she could pry it from her fingers since it had appeared to be glued there for so long.

"My masterpiece- is complete," she taped her wrist unit to display the time. "It's two am already? How did that happen!" Kogami shrugged noncommittally and she sighed. Now that she understood how long she had been working, exhaustion seemed to be catching up with her. "Thanks for staying with me. I know I wasn't exactly engaging company."

"I'll let you know if you're forgiven after this prank plays out," he said dryly. She didn't have the energy to laugh but she at least had the grace to put on a sleepy smile.

"We'll both have to wait until the morning for the big reveal then. For now, it's time for bed."

She had half risen from her chair before Kogami stopped her and she plopped back down, "You can't walk back to your place at this time of night, it's-"

Akane placed a small hand on his arm and he was momentarily distracted by the warmth until she found her grip and used it to pull herself to her feet. "Don't worry about it Ko, I've got this all planned out." Since when did she call him Ko? The exhaustion must be affecting her normal social filters. "I've brought an overnight bag and scouted out an empty recovery room in the med center ahead of time." Smart thinking.

"If that's the case, then I'm going to turn in. I'll see you in the morning inspector. Goodnight,"

Kogami didn't see her frown in the dark as he sauntered out of sight.

"Goodnight."

* * *

The morning sun was irrationally bright, so when Kogami walked out of his cave-like room it was murder on his eyes. This was the price of insomnia. A gallon of caffeine and an extra hour of stolen sleep in the afternoon would see him through the day. He walked into the office nursing a cigarette to find everything normal, with the small exception of Tsunemori's cheerfulness. She was well groomed, sharply dressed, looking like she hadn't missed a wink of sleep, and humming a happy wandering tune. It was so disgusting, he found the need to balance it out with the grey cloud hanging over his head.

No, this was childish. These petty pranks, baseless irritability, and vague feelings of attraction were just distractions from his work. It was time to wake up and remember the real reason he was here. Kogami worked diligently to the sound of clattering keyboards and whirling fan blades for a couple of hours until-

" _Welcome back Princess Kagari, you look extra nice today with your pretty pretty hair clips! Let's play Sparkle Pony Rainbow Adventure!"_

"What the hell?!" Kagari clicked the buttons on his hand held furiously. "Princess Time Dress-Up, Sugar Mountain Hop, Puppy-Pal Pounce, Magic Fairy Fantasy?!" Kogami blinked in shock as the red haired enforcer's voice got higher and more strained with each game title he read.

Mazaoka cleared his voice uncomfortably, "Is there something you need to tell us kid?" Kagari whipped around to face his senior. "Uh, we always knew you were a little . . . different, that's fine, but-"

"THESE AREN'T MY GAMES! STOP THINKING WIERD SHIT!" Kagari thundered and went back to hammering on his AstroShock and muttering to himself, but the obscenely happy voice kept giggling _"Play with me!"_

Apparently Tsunemori had been holding in her mirth for too long because she burst out laughing so hard that her entire body shook and tears streamed down her face. She gracelessly fell to the floor and her chair toppled over with a loud crash.

Her laughter was so infectious that the entire office, including Ginoza himself had joined her in his own more restrained way. "Way to give yourself away Tsunemori," he commented.

Kagari was too busy setting into panic mode, "Where are they? They've gotta be here somewhere, they can't have just disappeared. Was it a virus, have I been hacked! Why isn't my account registering? No, no, no, no! Come back, don't do this to me baby."

 _"_ _Hehe! We'll be best friends forever! Come play with me!"_

"AAAUGH!" He nearly dropped the devise in horror, but once Kagari was over his initial horror he moaned and and placed it down gently. He slumped over with his head in his hands, "My stats, my achievements, they're all gone. I spent years building those up!"

"Oh, stop you big baby," Tsunemori strode over and snatched up the handheld. A select few button presses and an odd _twip_ sound latter she handed it back.

"Huh?" The victim examined her work. "It's back to normal." He stared at her with disbelief stamped across his face. "You had to get past my security and then- you created a ghost file didn't you? But how- that's not supposed to be possible on an AstroShock!"

"That's the power of payback," she told him coyly.

Kagari was practically drooling after her, "Teach me your ways sensei!" Kogami just sat there watching, impressed. Forget about taking the thing apart, her plan turned out ten times better. The wayward picture of two people wrapped in each others arms lay forgotten.

* * *

 **Afterward:** Kagari doesn't take naps. He steals sleep. I've looked up a bunch of character facts on their wiki pages and none of them get very much sleep. I think they all have varying degrees of PTSD. A healthy adult is supposed to get eight hours guys. Eight. Hours.


	6. The Pestilence

**A/N:** So, I'm only updating on time because I had a rash of production like a week ago that I saved for today, but lately I've been severely distracted by grandmas, legos, and a gaggle of four year olds. Don't ask, the point is I gotta get my game back :/

You reviewers are amazing, seriously awesome people, never change! Please enjoy the week old scraps I scrounged up, next time I'll get you something shiny and fresh.

* * *

 **The Pestilence**

The chase had driven them into back alleys through the the pouring rain. The target might be a paranoid schizophrenic, but he had obviously trained his body. He scaled fences and climbed dumpsters fluidly and Akane's team just couldn't keep up with him long enough to even aim their dominators. There was no amount of training on the treadmill that could have prepared her for this. The only reason they kept him in sight was his periodic fits of panic where he look around wildly, muttering and swatting at the air around his ear.

Suddenly the cacophony of metal on metal rang deafeningly through the muting patter of rain. Their target sprinted after it, Yayoi, Mazaoka, and Tsunemori tailed him as best as they could.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! "DEATH TO SIBYL!" CLANG! "THE TYRANT!" CLANG! CLANG! "LYING ROTTEN BITCH, DOWN WITH HER!" CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! The source turned out to be Kogami high up on a fire escape swinging around a lead pipe and roaring at the top of his lungs. Their target was screaming and practically foaming at the mouth in rage. He began to scale the side of the fire escape like a demon, but Kogami aimed and the dominator's mechanisms shifted and locked around his grip into a new hulking creature of death.

 ** _Enforcement mode: Lethal Eliminator. Please aim carefully and eliminate the target._**

The machine gathered an ominous greenish-blue glow at its mouth and burst out in a neat beam. The reaction was immediate upon impact. The criminal's skin bubbled like his blood was boiling beneath the surface, swelling and rippling through his body until it burst apart. His flesh and blood mingled with the driving rain and showered upon the heads of those below. Akane closed her eyes and shuddered knowing that she would be spending the rest of the night picking bits of what used to be a person out of her hair.

Kagari and Ginoza came running up from a different ally, "Damn it Kogami, I know you work better alone, but at least give me an idea of what your planning," he complained, but the job was done.

* * *

Tsunemori came into work the next day feeling like her head was ten pounds heavier than normal. Her eyeballs were aching and it was difficult to go more than five minutes without coughing.

"Akane-chan! You look awful. Did staying out in the rain yesterday make you sick?" Kagari worried upon her arrival.

"Good morning to you too," she grumbled. "Besides, rain doesn't make people sick, it's just ah-" cue the coughing fit, and a perfect 10 sneezing finale. "Allergies. It's just allergies," she sighed from the exhaustion.

"Inspector, you shouldn't have come in if you were feeling ill," Ginoza informed her.

Tsunemori put as much confidence as she could into her reply, "No, it's fine. It's not that bad, really, I can still work."

"Your time and energy would be much better spent recovering for optimum work efficiency. Don't put your things down, I'm taking you home," his tone left no room for argument but she tried anyway.

"But, that report has to be-"

Yayoi interrupted her, "Sir, you're division leader. You can't leave in the middle of your shift."

"Yeah, but Akane can't stay here. She looks like death warmed over," Kagari pointed out.

"I do not!" Could they even hear her anymore?

"I could take her home. It's a slow day anyway." Was Kogami really volunteering for something like this?

"Wait, that's not necessary," Tsunemori pipped up in vain. Ginoza waved Kogami over and they began a back and forth. Really? She sighed, all she could do was watch as they discussed her fate like she wasn't in the room.

"What if I asked an inspector from another division to take her home?"

Kogami shook his head, "No good, if someone actually agrees to help out they'll hold it over us until we can return the favor."

"Good point, we can't have that."

"Just let me take her."

"You can't leave the building without an inspector."

"Good thing she is an inspector."

Ginoza flashed him a look of mistrust, "She's in a weakened state," he almost spat.

"You don't have to be in peak condition to pull a trigger."

The inspector considered for a long moment. "Fine, you can go. I'll come around to take you back to head quarters at the end of my shift, but if I find a whisper of misconduct I'll send you strait to the correction facility."

"Yes sir," Tsunemori thought she could hear a hint of sardonicism in Kogami's voice.

* * *

The walk back to her apartment was more torturous than the walk to work. The first trip had taken a lot of concentration to keep her breathing normal and her gate smooth, but it took twice as much effort this time because she hadn't gotten enough recovery time from her last trip. She must have been very good at feigning good health because Kogami didn't say anything.

Akane was relieved when they finally reached her apartment until- looking up at the three flights of stairs leading up to her home made her heart sink. She grit her teeth and took it one step at a time. She was forced to pause at one point and catch her ragged breath while clutching the railing. Why did the world have to start spinning in a place where she could fall and break her neck?

"This is ridiculous," Kogami grumbled before scooping her up in his arms. _Strong_ she vaguely noted, but she wouldn't let the thought dwell in the forefront of her mind.

"Agh! What are you doing?" she was entirely unprepared for this kind of treatment.

"Keep pushing yourself like this and you're going to hurt yourself."

"I'm fine, I'm not helpless," she argued.

"Really? Then why can't you make it up a flight of stairs without being on the verge of collapsing?" That gave her pause. "Your damn stubborn pride is going to kill you one day."

She let Kogami carry her and tried not to enjoy the butterflies flooding her stomach from being held against his body. _Should I enjoy this? Is it alright? No one will know . . . No, this is wrong. Oh I feel so guilty!_

They arrived at the door where he put her down so she could unlock it. The haze around her was so blinding that only muscle memory helped her get the key through the lock.

Her overly cheerful holographic jellyfish instantly popped up and twirled, "Ms. Akane! You're back! You brought a guest. Elevated hormone levels detected. Allow me to make a slight setting change for your comfort." The room shimmered and the scene shifted into a room draped in elegant silks softly lit with dozens of candles.

"Candy, change it back!" Akane demanded in horror. The room shimmered back into a library setting with a bright homey feel.

"Okay! Can I get you some chocolate covered strawberries, or maybe f-"

"NO. Delete recent memory and you are dismissed for now."

Candy made a mechanical twitter, "Request complete! Thank you for allowing me to serve you," she disappeared in an updraft of pink bubbles.

"Elevated hormones huh?" Kogami commented striding into the room with his hands in his pockets. She wasn't going to let this fluster her.

"I'm sick, of corse my hormone levels are fluctuating."

He cut her a sideways glance, "I thought it was just allergies." How snide.

"I was wrong, ok?" He looked like he approved of her acquiescence.

"Can I use your kitchen? It's almost lunch time."

"Go ahead," Akane settled herself on the couch with a blanket.

"What do you want?"

"Oh, I'm not hungry. Make whatever you like." He disappeared into the kitchen while the inspector pulled the dominator off her hip. Ginoza had given her special permission to carry since she would be alone with a latent criminal for an extended period of time, but she knew it was an unnecessary precaution. It sent an insulting message of distrust to Kogami, his ex-partner, but Ginoza was a rule man through and through so she accepted his orders. She only let her eyes rest for a moment but she must have dozed off because the next thing she knew her body shifted from a new weight on the couch.

Kogami had sat himself next to her with a giant bowl of thick noodles, slices of celery, carrot, and hunks of chicken swimming in a golden broth. He began eating it with such gusto that she couldn't help but think it must be delicious. It certainly smelled good.

"Mm, where's you're bathroom?" he asked after swallowing a giant mouthful.

"First door down the hall to the left." She stared at the bowl after he left the room. That soup looked home made. She knew from experiencing Kagari's cooking that enforcers with too much time on their hands and no way to go out to restaurants had some amazing skills in the kitchen. Akane tried to swallow past the deep hollowness in her stomach she was only just beginning to feel. What was taking him so long? One sample couldn't hurt, she just wanted to know if it was as good as it smelled. The tiny sip of broth she took was like swallowing warm southern sunshine. Her body moved of its own accord to take another bite and then another until she sensed someone watching her. Kogami was leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed.

"I was just taste testing and then-" he smirked and she knew that it had been for her the entire time. "Thanks."

"You only have a cold. You shouldn't be feeling dizzy and weak, so I figured you hadn't eaten in a while." He reclaimed his spot while Akane kept working on the soup at a more measured pace despite the ravenous monster in her stomach egging her on. She wondered about the instincts the man beside her had for people.

"How did you know how to catch that schizophrenic yesterday?" He shifted down to rest his neck on the back cushion.

"The most common symptom of schizophrenia is auditory hallucinations. A lot of schizos with criminal history will tell you that God commanded them to do things like kill nonbelievers or punish hypocrites. Sibyl has become a god in this society, so I figured that he had hallucinations of Sibyl commanding him to murder his victims. People like him become crazy zealots, so shouting insults about Sibyl seemed like a good way to make him come to me rather than going on a wild goose chase."

Most people would think his his approach to detective work was insane, but it was highly strategic and there was no denying its effectiveness. Akane put down her spoon and gave Kogami a solid look, "I want to be able to make deductions like that. I want to be as good at my job as you are."

"The only reason I'm this good is because I can get inside the head of criminals and the mentally ill. I'm living proof that Sibyl doesn't take kindly to that. Besides, you're primary job is to make sure enforcers don't do anything dangerous." She turned her head to try and assess his expression but all she discovered was how much she loved the strong lines of his face when it was relaxed.

She half smiled, "Now you're the one treating Sibyl like a god. Maybe this is one rule we can bend a little. We can blur the line between inspector and enforcer and just be detectives." She casually swatted at his chest with the back of her hand, " _Besides,_ I want to be your baby sitter about as much as you want to be my blood hound."

"Hm." The noise he made was almost a laugh which was good enough to make her feel happy. Then Kogami rested a heavy hand on top of her hair in a way that made her head press into his shoulder. At first she was tense and nervous thinking it was a mistake, but he stroked her hair a little, so she decided it was fine. Her blanket was doing its job well because she could feel warmth rapidly spreading through her whole body to the point of discomfort. "Do you need anything else?"

"Sleep," she muttered, shifting closer to get more comfortable. Akane already had one foot in sleepville, a full stomach, comfortable head rest, a warm blanket, and a fuzzy brain. She was out like a light again in no time.

* * *

Kogami was reading one of Stephen King's best works when he heard a sharp, even double knock on the door. Efficient, loud enough to get your attention but not intrusive or obnoxious- that could only be one person. He didn't make the effort to answer. The knock sounded again. After a silence the door opened abruptly to reveal the nose of a dominator followed by Ginoza. He lowered his weapon upon seeing Akane sprawled out asleep on the couch while Kogami was lounging in an armchair with his book.

"Evening inspector. You seem to be on high alert."

"Why didn't you answer the door?" he growled. The man was wound tighter that a piano wire and Kogami took, perhaps, a bit too much pleasure in pushing his buttons every once in a while.

"Because I've reached the most poignant part of this book and I knew you would come in anyway." When he did things like this back when they were both inspectors the two of them would have a long match of insults and an unspoken rule that whoever lost the game of banter bought lunch. Now Ginoza just gave him a withering look of disapproval. Kogami got up to leave but the inspector made a sound of discomfort.

"Something wrong?"

"Half of her is falling off the couch," Ginoza indicated Tsunemori's sprawling figure. An arm and a leg was hanging over the edge and trailing the floor while her hair looked like a bird's nest falling over her face, which was squished against a pillow. It was not flattering.

"Yeah, and?"

"She would get well faster if she slept comfortably."

"That's true."

"She would be more comfortable in a bed."

"What's your point?"

"For pity's sake Kogami! Stop being so difficult! We need to move her to her bed." _Being difficult is an enforcer's prerogative, sorry Gino,_ Kogami thought with a smirk. "Be my guest." Ginoza glared at him again before turning to his partner with a look of fatherly concern so reminiscent of Mazaoka that it made him laugh. His old partner hefted Akane bridal style and disappeared down the hall with her. When he came back without a girl in his arms they both headed for the door.

"What was so funny?" he grumped.

Kogami tried to suppress a smile, "If I told you, you'd kill me."

* * *

 **Afterward:** Ginoza is an old man at heart. Grumpy and set in his ways (because he's a rule man) and then wise beyond his years after his father's death.


	7. The Panic

**A/N:** I finally broke my streak of updating once a week, I'm sorry. A cockroach fell out of my towel this morning, so I get it, I gotta update OR ELSE. It was gross, I'm still not ok with it but I kinda am because it was funny too. There's going to be two more chapters after this, so we're wrapping up (YAY I'm going to finish a story for once and it's gonna be great!) Not sure how I feel about this chapter but wow I spent a lot of time on it, so please enjoy but also beware because-

 **WARNING!** There's a panic attack and claustrophobia in this chapter, so if you're easily triggered then don't read it.

* * *

 **The Panic**

It was the most stagnant hour of the night. The nocturnal beasts were retiring while the early risers were still nestled away until the break of dawn. The air was unnaturally still as if the atmosphere itself was holding its breath. It was four am, and despite the hour, Kogami was on his toes because his every instinct told him that something hostile crouched quietly in the warehouse before him.

Ginoza and Kogami had answered a summons to investigate a noise complaint after the description of the noises had been deemed suspicious enough to suspect criminal activity. A few bumps in the night wasn't enough to peak the MWPSB's interest, but when the anonymous caller began to describe minor explosions the analysts began digging into the building's history. The new intel revealed that the warehouse belonged to the tycoon of a chemical engineering company, but after his death three years ago the company was liquidated and the warehouse lay forgotten. Its' abandonment and deteriorated security left the building vulnerable to anyone with a pair of bolt cutters. Kogami and Ginoza had both been on call that night, meaning that they were to be prepared to immediately answer a summons to action in the event of late night criminal activity.

This particular case was too ambiguous for the pair of them to handle alone, so they arrived on sight as was protocol to keep an eye on the warehouse while Ginoza used his wrist devise to contact his partner inspector. She would have to be briefed and assigned the task of rounding up of the rest of the team.

"Mr. Ginoza?" a sleepy voice sweetened the air around them.

"Sorry for the late hour," the inspector said as a formality rather than an actual apology. Kogami shifted his gaze to catch sight of a small image of a bed ragged Akane (an image that was becoming oddly familiar) clad in an excessively ruffled yellow night shirt. Now, the human brain has an interesting function where it will fill in gaps of missing information automatically based the patterns it percieves, and the gaps will go unnoticed if they are not examined too closely. Something similar happened when the strap to Akane's shirt slid down a slender white arm, leaving her shoulder bare. Kogami automatically imagined what would happen if the cloth had not stopped slipping down. He was instantly alert after realizing what he had just run through his mind. While Ginoza droned on Kogami slapped himself mentally and attempted to refocus.

 _It's just a body like billions of others, it's ordinary and irrelevant to the task at hand. An inventory of my surroundings would be relevant and useful. Observation one: it's dark, I'll have to rely more on my other senses. Observation two: the warehouse is likely to have a secondary exit, scout the outside as a precaution. Observation three: given the previous owner, the warehouse is likely to be stocked with dangerous chemicals that the target can use as a weapon, remain vigilant for traps . . ._

The rest of the team arrived quickly. Tsunemori exited her own car before a patty wagon rolled up and the four remaining enforcers walked out of the vehicle looking ready for anything.

Ginoza assigned each person to a task. Mazaoka was to circle around the building to find and guard alternative exits, Kagari continuously circled the perimeter to scan the building's layout and search for heat signatures while Kunizuka monitored and reported the input from the mobile tech station. Ginoza coordinated the whole operation by the tech station which left Kogami and Tsunemori the task of infiltration.

The rusted hinges gave a nasty screech when the main doors were eased open. The faint moonlight was devoured by the yawning black hole of the warehouse entrance and with two steps forward, the pair were enveloped.

 _"_ _We're picking up an unidentified heat signature eighty-six meters to the northwest corner,"_ Ginoza's voice informed them from their earpieces. _"However, the place is so full of junk I couldn't begin to give you specific directions. Looks like you're going to have to play a little hide and seek."_ Kogami gave him a click from his communicator to indicate that they had heard and understood the update. Akane turned on a flashlight to its lowest setting and pointed it downward to minimize detection. She maintained the perfect rigid posture of a trained inspector. The stiff extremity holding her dominator rested atop the wrist of the hand holding her flashlight to keep her aim steady and true. By now Kogami had become confident enough in his aim to brandish his own weapon with one hand regardless of his original training. Truth be told, it was more of a product of his "screw convention" mentality.

They started forward, looking around every corner for signs of movement or danger. There were rows upon rows of tables packed with various dusty tubes, beakers, and other oddly shaped glasses designed for experimenting with chemicals. They wound past towers of boxes and decrepit filing cabinets with drawers hanging open and data sprawled about. The air seemed to have an eerie greenish tinge and the high windows were plastered with moldy blankets that cut off any external light source.

Finally, they reached the north west corner, but the only evidence they found of recent habitation was fresh charring around the floor and walls. Kogami felt a tug on his sleeve and Akane indicated a blackened and crooked rug. It's original placement was marked by a clean sliver of concrete to its immediate right. She pulled back the cloth to reveal an old fashioned trap door and then pulled it open by an iron ring to inspect its contents with her flashlight.

A faint rustling like the careful shuffle of feet grabbed his attention so Kogami whipped his head around to find a pair of eyes gleaming at them in the darkness. He meant to go after them when the target turned tail to run. That was the obvious option, especially given the racket he was making by knocking over everything he ran into and the slamming of a door opening. Kogami paused five paces into the chase sensing that something was off. There was a slight pressure on his shin from a delicate trip wire accompanied by a high pitched artificial squeal almost out of hearing range.

On instinct he changed direction to throw himself and Akane into the open hole in the ground and wrenched the door above them shut. Not a moment later the sound an intense blast echoed through their concrete tube and Kogami could feel the heat from it cook his skin. The tube only extended a few feet underground and didn't lead anywhere. It was obviously constructed to accommodate a single person. The flashlight flickered back on, and trapped as it was between their bodies with Akane's wrist bent at an awkward angle, it was enough light to see just how small of a space they were trapped in. The world flipped upside down for a moment and all the air seemed to leave the atmosphere. Kogami realized his breath was coming in short gasps but there was no oxygen. He quickly grew light headed and all he could hear was the blood roaring in his ears. The edges of his vision was faded, his skin was pricking with cold sweat. Neurochemical hysteria was surging through his body because the concrete walls were contracting around him and his only coherent thought was that he had to get out. A deep undertone of nausea rolled in his gut. He twisted to slam his back against one wall and his arms shook as he pushed against the opposite side with every ounce of strength he had in a desperate attempt to avoid a crushing death. It made no difference. The walls kept shrinking and he had to get out. Kogami strained and grit his teeth, twisted and pushed but he could hardly feel his body beneath a smothering blanket of numbness and he had to get out, he had to get out he had to get out . . .

 _"_ _We just heard an explosion, are you alright? Answer me inspector!"_ Tsunemori struggled to get to the wrist devise with her arm pinned behind her and Kogami shifting around so much. "Shifting" didn't do him credit though. He was dead to everything except whatever demons were running around in his head as he strained mightily against the walls without regard to her own position. At first his forearm had been crushing her her throat. The strangling was unintentional, but she still had to bite him to get out of the life threatening hold. He barely seemed to feel it even when she drew blood. Now she had to deal with his knee grinding her ankle into the concrete and his elbow bruising her abdomen, but that was a price she was willing to pay. After all, the desperate noises coming from his throat and the wild look in his eyes were much bigger causes for concern.

Right now she had to focus on freeing her arm because Ginoza's muffled voice kept demanding that she answer. The more she struggled to free her arm the more her frustration built and fueled her efforts. Being unable to use her own body when she needed it for something this important was extremely vexing. Finally, she was able to scrape it free with a cry and the loss of some skin.

"We're fine sir! Kogami managed to pull us into some sort of underground shelter at the last moment." She could hear a faint crackle in the ear piece that could only be a sigh of relief.

 _"_ _Don't leave your shelter until my signal. We suspect that the explosion may have released some toxic gases into the air. Mazaoka initially apprehended the target, but the shock of the explosion gave him an opening to escape, so-"_

"HNN!" She coughed harshly after Kogami's elbow rammed into her stomach, bringing her to the verge of spilling its contents.

 _"_ _What-"_ She couldn't hear the rest of what he said through a haze of pain, but when it lifted enough she spoke over him.

"I think Kogami is having a panic attack sir, I'm sorry, but I have to clam him down!" With that, Akane managed to take out her ear piece so she could focus on her next task without distraction. She forcefully wormed her way in front of the enforcer.

Suddenly all he could see was Akane's face, so he fought to get around her. She defied his efforts.

"Wdjesn si . .. . . ix!" She was saying something he could barely comprehend, but it sounded important. The urge to struggle was a strong compulsion, but he forced stillness into his body.

"You can hear me can't you? What is one hundred minus eighty-six?"

He shut his eyes and felt a bead of sweat trickled down between them. _Numbers, numbers, what are those again? She wants a quantity. The units between eighty-six and one hundred are-_ "Fourteen." His response was clipped and his voice was really rough.

"Multiply by four."

"Fifty-six."

"Divide by six."

"Nine."

"Add four-hundred and twenty-two."

"Four-hundred and thirty-one." He felt his brow relax but he didn't open his eyes.

"Listen to me," Akane's voice came to him like soothing cool water. "You're safe here. Just focus on breathing." His chest was still rising and falling rapidly while his heart battered itself against its bony cage. He took a deeper breath but it was forced from his lungs quickly. The task of stretching out the exhale became a challenge to focus on. Slowly the light headedness dissipated and he could feel his body beginning to return to a more normal rhythm.

"Small spaces . . . never liked 'em."

"We're all afraid of something." Her gentle response made him feel more human. He had discovered his claustrophobia early in life, and after each episode he would detach from the experience and reminisce on how being trapped like an animal made him behave like one. It wasn't the small space that he feared, it was the cage.

 _Relax_. After the excessive tension left his muscles he slowly became aware of his body's position. His legs were bent awkwardly to avoid the trapdoor ceiling while one arm was scrunched painfully to the side. The other was pinned between his and Akane's chests and they were close enough that he could feel her breath on his chin. He was also highly aware that one of her knees was pressed against his waist in a half stratal.

She moved against him and the sensation made him open his eyes. Her own enormous doe eyes held a look of discomfort, "Sorry, I'm starting to cramp."

"Do whatever you need to." She shifted and his space suddenly shrank again. His heartbeat picked back up.

"Hey, hey," through a painful push Akane was somehow able to raise her arms above her head, which freed up a surprising amount of space for them both.

She took his face in her hands, "I'm right here." He focused on the details of her face. The concern in her eyebrows, the prominence of her lower lashes, the delicate thinness of her nose, the deep cupid's bow curve in her lip. He closed his eyes again and allowed her after image to burn in his memory- the face of integrity. With nowhere left to put them, Akane was forced to drape her arms around the back of his neck, and it occurred to him that they were trapped in a lover's embrace. He couldn't help but find the humor in it.

"You're laughing?" The confusion in her voice was understandable because it was an odd reaction for the situation. He had to admit, releasing some hysteria through laughter instead of smothering it felt pretty good. Suddenly the appeal of insanity wasn't so hard to grasp.

"Good thing there's no one to take a picture this time."

This time she laughed with him.

 _"_ _Inspector Tsunemori, do you copy?"_

"Ah!" Akane maneuvered her wrist between their faces, "I'm here sir!"

 _"_ _Good, don't ever toss your earpiece off again. I had to get Kunizuka to tap your communications just to get through to you. We've got the all clear, it's safe to come out."_

"We're on our way." Kogami had no trouble finding his way out of that hole. Tsunemori, on the other hand, had to be lifted out before he could break through the back door. The inspector leaned her back against the cold metal exterior and tilted her head back with a soft thunk. Just to spite the weakness in his knees, Kogami made a point to support his own weight.

"I think _I_ might be claustrophobic now." His blood ran cold.

"That never happened," his voice sounded foreign to his own ears.

Akane's face remained impassive but her eyes shined amidst the myriad of bruises and raw sores covering her body, "I don't know what you're talking about."

The night veiled his smirk. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and was put out when they failed to find a familiar cardboard pack.

"Hey Ko-" The enforcer looked up to see Mazaoka walking toward them with their target in a submission hold. "Thanks for flushing him out for me! It took a while to chase this guy down, but I got him."

"Come on Mazaoka, your supposed to shoot the bad guy not give him a warm hug," Kogami said with a wry edge.

"The firebug tried to blow up two of my dear colleagues, I just wanted to see if I could still get things done the old fashioned way. What do you think kid!" He gave the target a hard squeeze and he squawked in response. "Think I still got it?"

"Now you're just playing with your food," Kogami muttered.

"Come on," Akane prompted them. "Let's get him to Mr. Ginoza." She put her hand on the back of Kogami's arm in a comforting gesture with casual ease. He found himself missing the steady anchor when her hand retracted.


	8. The Pretense

**A/N:** So this is an interesting chapter. I swore I'd never put things that happen in a show into my stories because you've seen then show and it just seems redundant, but here I am putting in scenes verbatim. Oh well. I did it mostly to let you know that those events have happened now, but also to remind you _what_ happened (I'll admit, I forgot the details), and because these scenes are critical to the chapter.

If my writing style seems a little bit different this time it's because I've been reading a lot from an author that really inspired me. Her prose is so powerfully descriptive that I see all these incredible images and feel the emotions behind the story and ugh! I love it.

I'm also trying something else new that I've seen other authors do. There's a song by ODEZA called It's Only that I think fits the mood well.

* * *

 **The Pretense**

 _"_ _I let her die without doing anything . . . I let her die without doing anything . . ." An indelicate but light pressure on her arm sent her crashing back to reality with a gasp, the numbness fled instantly. Her sobbing was brief but harsh._

 _"_ _Tell me what happened." It was Kogami lying on a stretcher, somehow ignoring the shot gun wounds oozing blood through their bandages._

 _"_ _The man from the picture- i-it was him."_

 _"_ _What man? What do you mean?"_

 _"_ _Shogo Makishima. The dominator won't work. It won't judge him!"_

* * *

 _"_ _I took time off- I mean, they made me take a few days off."_

 _"_ _Did you have the funeral yet?"_

 _"_ _Two days ago."_

 _"_ _I see."_

 _"_ _I'm so sorry."_

 _"_ _What are you sorry for?"_

 _"_ _Makishima got away because I couldn't kill him."_

 _"_ _You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't fail, it was you dominator. That's what happened right?"_

 _"_ _Forensics says there's nothing wrong with the gun. Ginoza is talking to the brass about getting more resources to look into it."_

 _"_ _Up till now Makishima has stayed hidden. He might have some secret means to outwit us based on the fact that we solely rely on our dominators."_

 _"_ _You're back to your normal self Mr. Kogami."_

 _"_ _You've recovered faster than I thought too."_

 _"_ _Well, I can't mope around forever, not with Shogo Makishima around. He killed my friend right in front of me and he killed yours too."_

 _"_ _. . . yeah."_

 _"_ _Just saying that makes me feel better. I think I'm going to go now. There's actually one thing about this situation that I'm glad about. Now we know Makishima is real. No one will ever doubt your police work again. From here on out we share the same goal. We do whatever it takes to get Makishima and avenge our friend's murders." Dread and regret sank into his system like a slow poison after hearing the ominous implications of her words and yet he was almost too shocked to believe his ears. Akane Tsunemori was changing. Then his resolve hardened and it became obvious that this was always going to happen. Yes, she was changing, becoming tougher and wiser to adapt to the harsh nature of criminal investigation. At some point, every investigator learns to cut the strings of ideal thinking before the savage world can constrict the threads around the trusting bare throat of an innocent fool. Now the real hunt could begin._

* * *

 _The wrist devise rang twice before she could hang up._

 _"_ _Is that Kogami?"_

 _"_ _Yes. Kagari must have told him about my plans to do a memory scoop."_

 _"_ _Maybe you should talk to him."_

 _"_ _It'd be a waste of time. He'd just try to convince me it's a bad idea, even though he's always taking risks himself."_

 _"_ _I don't like it either. Too risky. And your psychopass has already been clouded enough from the murder. Worst case scenario, you would end up becoming a latent criminal yourself."_

 _"_ _The chief gave us orders: do not conduct a public investigation. If it's not a public case it's hard to get clues. We need a clear image of him."_

 _"_ _But . . ."_

 _"_ _If it takes my crime coefficient going up to get the picture, then so be it. I don't care if I become an enforcer as long as we get Makishima."_

 _"_ _You shouldn't be flippant about things like that!"_

 _"_ _I'll be alright Mr. Ginoza, after all, my greatest strength is that my psychopass won't cloud easily."_

 _"_ _Ok Akane, we're all set. I'll be monitoring your psychopass and physical condition the entire time."_

 _"_ _I trust you Shion."_

 _"_ _Focus your thoughts on the moment you first met Makishima. Once I lock into the brain signal for that memory I'll amplify it, so be prepared for it to cause you severe emotional distress."_

 _"_ _I'm ready."_

* * *

The first day back at work went by in a blur of routine despite the new information on Makishima. Nothing could be done about it except wait for him to commit another crime or wait for a camera to recognize his face. Akane had the distinct impression that Shogo was too smart to let himself be caught by a camera, and so she mentally clicked the chess timer. _Your move._

She had stayed a little later today just to get things back in order to try and make up for time lost while she was on leave. The day's work wasn't all that demanding but when it was time to go she gave a tired sigh and ground the heal of her hand into one eye. She grabbed the desk to help hoist herself up but she ended up knocking her purse to the ground, its' contents sliding in a cascade across the concrete. The delayed click of a plastic tube colliding with the wall caught her attention and the sight of it gave her pause. She walked over and carefully knelt to pick it up. Once her fingers curled around it she found herself held captivated by the shiny perfect plastic.

"Your hands are shaking," a quiet presence that she hadn't noticed until now commented.

She looked down to see he was right. Strange. "Oh- I guess they are."

"So what's wrong?" Kogami asked, looking taller than usual standing two paces away.

"I don't know. Nothing, I guess."

"Come on Akane," he snapped at her. He didn't say it out loud but she could tell that he was calling her out on her bullshit. The trouble was that it was hard to pin point the source when she wass hardly aware of her own distress. Starting with the instigator might help.

She clasped the plastic tube of a pretty pink shade tightly, "This is, um- it was Yuki's." She couldn't help but crack a small sad smile at the lip gloss, "She pressured me into putting on some makeup one day because I never wear it and she was always going on about how pretty I would look. When I finally gave in she went off on this long lecture about how makeup is supposed to enhance natural beauty, not replace it and when she was done she slipped this lip gloss into my purse. I always meant to give it back to her but-" she stopped abruptly when a warm track slid swiftly down her cheek. Reflexively she looked down at the concrete to hide her face.

"Not everyone can accept reality as unconditionally as you can. You accept it and instinctively find a way to move forward. That's why your psychopass stays so clear, but that's not always gonna work. Sometimes things happen that stir up emotions too violent to just leave behind. You have to grieve properly before you can move forward."

She sat there pouring silent tears and staring at the thread tracks weaving through her skirt for seconds that stretched into eternity. She started when the lip gloss slipped through her fingers and clattered to the floor. It was like an electric shock from a defibrillator that gave life back to her words.

"There was a shot gun." Akane found a flickering hint of confusion in the folds of skin around Kogami's eyes. She looked back down at her empty hands covered in a sickeningly warm and sticky sensation. She held them out so none of the skin touched. "He threw it to me and said that if I wanted to stop him then I'd have to use my free will and choose to kill him. I could have done something," her voice quavered harshly. It was like she was once more standing at the edge of Makishima's precipice swaying dangerously with a light head that came from concentrated horror. "Taking his life was never my decision to make, but _I could have done something!_ " Her voice finally cracked and she reflexively gasped to make up for the time she hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath.

Her body quaked with bottled up sobs, still fresh thanks to a hermetic seal, and powerful enough to rattle her spine. "She was my best friend and I did nothing, I just stood there and _let_ her _die!_ " Her small body crumpled like gravity was collapsing in on her but she still kept her hands away from her body. They looked more like crimson atrocities to her.

"So now you think her blood is on your hands?" Kogami gauged her well. "Akane, shot guns like that are sold in actions for millions. People haven't relied on weapons like that in decades, and you certainly don't have the training to know how to handle one. If you had tried to target Makishima you probably would have hit your friend by accident, her death is not your fault. His hand was the one that slit her throat, not yours."

His argument was perfectly sound, but logic couldn't hold up in the depths of her grief. The image of Makishima's righteous expression raised in saint-like wisdom while holding a flashing blade to carve death into a person's flesh was powerful.

When she showed no signs of responding, Kogami started forward to sit next to her on the floor. He took one of her hands, inspecting it carefully and then turning it over to deliberate its every surface as if searching it for a fleck of dust. The whisper of skin slipping over skin in smooth strokes was a strange melody. He slowly separated Akane's pointer finger to raise toward his lips and enveloped the digit within the warm silken depths of his mouth. While pulling it outward he briefly added the tip of her second finger to join the first in an unorthodox cleansing ritual.

"No more blood," the timbre of his voice rumbled bone deep. The effect of his ministrations were oddly calming and she found that once he pressed her head to his chest she was able to let herself softly crumble. He was the cloth beneath catching every piece of her to keep safe until she was rebuilt.

"You should have seen her face. Shinya, sh-she was so scared. She was looking at me so desperately like I had all the answers." Akane saw the scene when she closed her eyes but the weight of Kogami's hand on her head was an anchor.

"She had a lot of faith in you, and if you ask me it was well placed." The silence after that felt heavy because his statement seemed cruelly ironic. He wasn't done. "I didn't understand how the two of you were friends at first. She was too simple minded and shallow for you, but the further we dove into the maze the more I recognized a familiar ineffable strength in her. Even though she was scared out of her mind, that woman did things that the average frightened victim would never dream of doing. She was guided by a moral compass of her own make, not the standard trash Sybil hands out for free. Your friend decided for herself what was right and she fought like hell because of it."

Akane was as silent as possible so she could hang onto every syllable that poured from his mouth. This was a commemoration of Yuki ten times than her own funeral. She only remembered it as a jumble of generic words and the shimmering heat pouring from a black hole in the wall that no one had the courage to lay eyes on for more than a few seconds as Yuki's casket was slowly swallowed up. Her best friend deserved to be surrounded by the striking brilliance of her favorite yellow lily, not the stark minimalistic decorations of the sterile funeral home. She deserved fond smiles and words from people who understood her vibrancy. The enforcer cradling her bent frame let out a short stream of air in amusement, "You know, she said almost exactly the same thing you did that day in the gym. I tried to tell her to get therapy for all the things that she'd seen and she had the gall to tell me she wouldn't mind becoming a latent criminal." Akane smiled at that. "I'll never understand that about the two of you. The life of a latent criminal is not supposed to be something you _choose_ and definitely not on a whim . . . stupid." A brittle laugh escaped from her constricted airway.

It was as if they were fuzed together. Neither of them felt the need to move or speak, there was only the steady ebb and flow, the give and take of strength. It was the most natural thing in the world because their bodies were familiar with each other even if it was only because they had been unwillingly thrown together twice before. The feel of the other other's touch was imprinted on each of them so they felt at home together even in a place as hard edged as their concrete office sitting in the middle of a plastic world. The smooth bright plastic had been Akane's world, her reality for so long, but the impact of something heavy and bitter made curious spider cracks in the facade. She expected that the underside was dark and harsh but a morbid sort of magnetism compelled her to keep picking at the edges with fingernails that were becoming jagged. She craved the truth, no matter how bitter a pill it was to swallow because it gave her solid ground to walk on. Akane resolved to fight for it.

Her body rose of its own accord and Kogami followed. Three of his fingertips grazed aside the short locks framing her face and their eyes communicated. He asked a question that she answered positively with a faint reflection of light and the languid blink of her eyelids. He gave her an almost imperceptible nod as his fingers slipped to the tip of her chin and then fell away. They went their separate ways with matching sentiments of well-being for the present and determination for the future.

* * *

 **Afterward:** Please let me know what you think about the style/song suggestion/any thing else on your mind! This one felt really different for me and I'm curious to know your reaction. ALSO! The washing-of-blood-with-mouth thing was an idea I took from Casino Royale, so can't take credit for that either but I remember thinking how incredibly hot and sweet that was the first time I saw it. Kogami can pull off the James Bond style well I think. Next time they'll have to deal with their attraction and it gets all complicated and twisty. Anyway! Review and go about your lives!


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